I was approached by another reviewer to consider reviewing this series. This has turned out to be one of the best investments in a fantasy series I have made. Due to this review covering all the series as it exists now, here is what each novel is about:
The Seer (prequel to The Stone of Knowing)
Eyes see only a glimpse.
Sheylha is a seer—a woman with unique and extraordinary abilities. Powerful men want to control her, to use her to dominate others.
Kalvor is a warrior of unusual tenacity, a hunter who never gives up. Driven by his past, he has become a dangerous enemy.
When Kalvor is sent to find and capture the seer, each of them will be tested in ways they could never have imagined.
In time the outcome will determine the fate of kingdoms.
The Stone of Knowing. (Book 1)
A small stone creates big ripples
The untroubled world of young Thomas Stablehand is changed forever when he stumbles upon an unusual stone. With the thoughts and intents of others laid bare, he eagerly indulges his curiosity. But seeing into other minds isn’t like Thomas expected. And troubles are only beginning.
Invaders attack the kingdom of Arvenon, and dangerous enemies seek the stone. Unable to release its full potential, Thomas has nowhere to turn except to his friend Will Prentis.
Will is fearless, and where he leads men follow. With the kingdom on the brink, Will leads a small band on a perilous quest to thwart the invaders. Fearing exposure, Thomas flees with them.
As Thomas struggles to unravel the enigma of the stone, Will must outwit a relentless adversary whose true purpose remains hidden.
Staying alive is a formidable challenge. Defeating their enemies seems an impossible dream.
The Stone of Knowing is not a standalone story--the saga continues and concludes in The Cost of Knowing, book two of The Stone Cycle.
Endings may be beginnings in disguise
Anneka is comfortable and confident, a noblewoman of consequence living a life of privilege. Until the day her world is torn apart.
After losing everything she most cares about, she must abandon her home and her way of life in an attempt to secure the future of those who depend on her.
No one, least of all Anneka, could anticipate a deeper significance to her struggle. Yet her journey may one day influence the fate of kingdoms.
The Rending is a standalone story of novelette length. It is a prequel to The Cost of Knowing, book two of The Stone Cycle. It is a free download available to readers who subscribe to author's mailing list. It can be read before The Stone of Knowing or The Cost of Knowing, but the recommended reading order is after both novels have been read.
The Cost of Knowing, Book 2.
Thomas Stablehand’s life is not the only thing spinning out of control since he found the stone. Entire kingdoms are now in turmoil.
Will Prentis, newly appointed as army commander, must outmaneuver a growing array of enemies as he prepares for an unequal showdown with Arvenon's invaders. Thomas, hunted unceasingly, must sacrifice all to safeguard the stone.
The fate of kingdoms soon hinges on them as they confront a ruthless invader hiding a darker purpose.
The odds are hopeless. And for three kingdoms, the stakes are higher than anyone knows.
Perspective by Peter:
As I stated above this is one of the best investments in a fantasy series I have made. Captivating, engrossing, pure escapism, heartwarming, well-written. Just some of the adjectives to describe this series.
Right from the first page of The Seer (yes, I read that first despite the author saying on his website that is should be read after Book 2, The Cost of Knowing, forgive me, Allan!) I was drawn in and hooked. Why was that? Well, The Seer introduces you to many elements of this series; the way it is written, the author's well-developed command of the English language, the characterisation that immediately impresses you. The sense of suspense, curiosity about the Stone, its powers, its origin and how is this going to form the basis of this series, why is the evil Lord after it? The Stone lingers on after this prequel ends and we have to say goodbye to the two main characters, one who is killed and the other who disappears entirely. However, this latter character I wondered would they be re-introduced in later novels?
The pace really picks up with The Stone of Knowing and to add a cliche, the plot thickens! The hooks from The Seer are strengthened and further developed through the introduction of Thomas Stablehand who finds the Stone 3 years after it is lost in the events at the end of The Seer.
Throughout this series, it is too easy to become lost in this world that Packer has so brilliantly created. It is very easy to feel that this world is real and you are an active and engaged participant, not just an observer. The characters are relatable, you identify with various emotions and reactions of the characters to their situations, mainly through Thomas, Will, Brother Vangellis, but there are so many more!
Apart from the world-building of a novel, the plot and its events that constitute pillars of any novel, it is the characterisation that is another. And it is especially true for the main character or characters. Packer does not let us down here. Those three I have mentioned are the main ones I became endeared to and Books 1 and 2 goes back and forth between them as the plot dictates the events that they are involved in. Thomas became a grandson to me (hmm, I am showing my age here by that comment!), Will become a son and Brother Vangellis became a spiritual mentor or even Pastor, despite him being a monk!
Perhaps mainly through Brother Vangellis that Packer embeds the spiritual elements of this series, through Books 1 and 2. Packer has written this series for the secular mainstream market, Packer has split many Christian themes through each of these three characters. With Thomas, it is his coming of age, dealing with his identity, learning to be a man, being masculine, dealing constructively with his emotions, learning to forgive, learning to apologise and make amends to his immature or wrong decisions and behaviour while allowing himself to believe in a Higher Being, the God whom Brother Vangellis serves.
Brother Vangellis could be seen as providing the positive and mentoring aspects that Thomas' father failed to provide to him. Being in a similar situation with my own father, I became incensed at Thomas' father for the way he treated him and could not or would not see the negative effect and the outcome of this on their relationship. In another sense, Brother Vangellis provides Thomas with enough spiritual guidance on how to deal with the strong and negative emotions of anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness that enables him to see the freedom that comes with not letting these emotions overtake you or control you. Reading these two novels, I kept seeing Brother Vangellis as a Christ-like figure and I was not surprised as Biblically, we are instructed by Paul to "imitate me (Paul) as I imitate Christ" (1 Cor 11:1), but "imitate" in this context does not mean literally, it means to emulate Christ and let others see Christ in us.
In Will, we see the traits of being a warrior, chivalrous, standing up for what is right and honourable and fighting to protect and preserve it. Will understands the tactics and strategy of the enemy (Lord Drettroth and his Rogandan army) and plans accordingly. He shows a humbleness towards his successes and does let pride and vainglory dwell in him. Towards Thomas, he became like a big/older brother, and he reminded me of being a Paul to Thomas with him being a Timothy in the Biblical example of these two. One of the qualities of Will is that he would always those in a situation better off than before as depicted in helping the townspeople devasted by this war. He stayed behind with his entourage to give them a head start at restoring their lives and rebuilding their homes. He definitely is seen as a benefactor to those communities affected by the ravages of the war that has been inflicted on them.
For the secular reader, these Biblical nuances may not be obvious. For the Christian reader, once they understand the market it is written for they will still appreciate the solid foundation it is built on and be endeared to this series. It is very hard not to be. The obvious Biblical themes and Christianese are now in the background but not without positive influence.
Packer does not show much of the Dark Arts or the power and existence of the Dark Gods that Drettroth has sold his soul to. Even the incident where Will acted as a Priest of these Gods was not him showing possession from these entities but more an ad hoc performance to fool the Rogandan army as part of his escape from them. I appreciated Packer's take on this.
Getting back to the world-building, Packer excels here. The description throughout the novels of the world of Arvenon and its surrounding kingdoms enables the reader to piece together how it looks and the Map included in the novels and prequels is detailed enough to be the icing on the cake in this description. It is rich in its description and infused into the events and plot arcs of all the four stories. Packer depicts the four Kingdoms well, they are each different from each other in geography, culture and approach to life. This adds to the existing depth of this world-building.
I would even consider that the battle scenes and battle strategy are part of this world-building. I find that in any story depicted in any time frame, whether modern warfare or medieval if these are not depicted realistically showing it as it is so the reader can see it happening in their mind as they are reading, then this falls short of the suspense and tension of the plot and thus weakens it. In this series with Will being a strategist and knowing the tactics of the enemy, the battle scenes have to reflect this strategy as described by Will and reinforce this quality he has. This is superbly depicted in the Battle of Torbury Scarp.
I must confess though that I was disappointed in one aspect of this novel. The Rending is a great aspect of this series that introduces important characters into The Stone of Knowing. There is a strong romance element here and Packer does not mention anything about its outcome when he ties up all the plot arcs at the end of the novel. Nothing is mentioned as to their future together. The romance builds up to its peak before the Battle of Torbury Scarp but after this battle, the only hint is that one of them returns to where the other is living but nothing else. We are left hanging. Do they live happily ever after? I really do pray that Packer addresses this in the next novel, Book 3, The Stone of Authority.
As with any object that has power or magic instilled in it, there needs to be a history of how this came to be. This is part of the world-building of the novel. Up until Packer revealed this concerning the Stone of Knowing in Book 2, I was waiting with increasing anticipation. Not including this history would leave a huge gap in this world-building and again, weaken the plot. It is frustrating reading many novels in a series and not finding out the back history of the artefact or source of the power or magic that has caused so much upheaval, calamity, division and of course war in most cases. Can you imagine Lord of the Rings minus the history of the Ring(s) and the evil lord behind it? It would make a laughing stock of Tolkien and this series, rendering it superficial and shallow. It would not be worth investing time and money on.
I loved the history of the Stone. I was expecting that there was only one Stone, but this history provides more than I was hoping for. Although not a complete history, this adds to the mystique of the Stone, its powers and adds depth to the motivation and agenda that Lord Drettroth has in his desire to dominate and rule the four kingdoms. It was very clever to not just leave it there, but what Drettroth explains to Thomas upon his capture, leaves more plot arcs for the remainder of the series and from this, it looks like this series will go to the next level. I suspect though that the missing piece(s) of the history of the Stones will be explained and this will form an even stronger foundation to this series.
I can see why Packer has been described as an emerging author of epic fantasy. He is quite the master storyteller. This series is definitely worth investing your time and money in. This series lingers with you after you finish. You are not the same as you were before you started.
I am definitely invested in this author's work. I am eagerly looking forward to the remaining 3 novels in this epic saga and fantasy.
Highly Recommended.
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